Reporter : Ren Fangyan
Publisher : China Science Daily
Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : SARS-CoV-2 can destroy the lung, liver and kidney tissues cultivated in the laboratory. The picture shows the culture of human liver duct cells in vitro after infection with the virus, which can help people understand some serious complications caused by the virus. (Source: Zhao Bing)
SARS-CoV-2 (covi, in short) can invade various organs such as lung, liver, kidney, etc., but it is unclear which damage is caused by the coronavirus and which is caused by complications of infection. According to the "Nature" report, using the organoid tissue cultured in the laboratory, some research groups are studying the specific process of covi invading the human body.
Organoids can differentiate into a variety of cell types and develop into prototypes that are close to real organs within a few weeks, at a lower cost than animal models, and can help scientists identify drug candidates for treatment.
At present, scientists have determined the invasion process of covi in the respiratory system through organoids. Based on this, a research team at Kyoto University developed four different cell types of bronchial organs, including frozen bronchial outer layer or epithelial cells.
The team's research on the preprinted platform pointed out that the virus mainly targets bronchial epithelial stem cells, but does not enter bronchial exocrine cells. They also plan to study whether the virus will spread to other cells through stem cells.
In addition, a team from Cornell University also published the research results on the preprint platform. They determined by organoids that the virus could enter the lungs from the upper respiratory tract and cause respiratory failure.
Using lung organoids cultured in vitro, the team discovered that certain cells die after being infected with the virus, and the virus induces the production of chemokines and cytokines, which in turn triggers a violent immune response. But they are not sure whether the cells were destroyed by self-induced or phagocytic immune cells and apoptosis.
Last month, Cell published a study from the Spanish team. The team found the infection path of covi in organoids made from pluripotent stem cells: after the endothelial cells reach the lining cells of the blood vessel, the virus particles can enter blood to circulate in the body. This is consistent with the pathological report of a covid patient, who had suffered blood vessel damage.
Another study published by Fudan University's research team in "Protein and Cells" pointed out that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect and kill bile duct cells, resulting in liver damage. Before this, many people believed that the liver damage of the patients was caused by severe immune response or side effects of drugs.
Other researchers have found that viruses can infect kidney and intestinal organs, but because a single organoid cannot reflect the interaction between different organs in the body, researchers still need to build more complex models to understand how the virus and the immune system occur reaction. Moreover, they also need to rely on animal models and clinical trials to verify the research results.
Related paper information: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.25.115600
https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.05.079095
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.004
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-020-00718-6
No comments:
Post a Comment